Leicester Tigers secure Veainu and Williams on new contracts

Leicester have secured top stars Telusa Veainu and Mike Williams on new contracts.

Tonga flier Veainu has impressed consistently since joining the Tigers after the 2015 World Cup, while Zimbabwe-born flanker Williams won selection to the England squad in 2016.

"Telusa has been in outstanding form and is a key player for us," said Leicester head coach Matt O'Connor.

"He's a popular guy in the squad, he works very hard and he is still improving as a player.

"We have some top-class players in our backline and Telusa is central to that.

"Mike is a strong presence in the back-row and has some good experience at this level now.

"We we're keen to extend his contract and he was keen to stay here so we're delighted terms have been agreed."

Veainu, 26, broke through in Super Rugby in New Zealand and Australia before switching to the Aviva Premiership.

"I'm very settled here in Leicester, it's my home away from home so it was an easy decision to make," said Veainu.

"I want to win and play my best rugby here.

"The boys are like family to me and the fans are loyal. I love playing at Welford Road."

The 26-year-old Williams has recovered from a nasty broken arm to continue his bullish string of performances.

He said: "Leicester were so good to me throughout my injury to my arm, it's a great place to play rugby and we have exciting times ahead of us as a squad."